- first, to begin the full-scale development of Arctic resources (making up, according to the US Geological Survey, about 90 billion barrels of oil);
- secondly, (which is no less important), to close this space for non-regional competitors (represented primarily by China, Japan and South Korea).
It should be noted that the issues of the legal ownership of areas of the Arctic shelf are currently governed by international law. It is primarily about the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 of the Year (The United Nation Convention on the Law of the Sea). According to this document, states have the right to claim a shelf within their exclusive economic zones (i.e., 200 nautical miles, or 370,4 kilometers). However, along with this, it is envisaged that the state may also qualify for that part of the submarine shelf that is outside its exclusive economic zone. But only if it is possible to prove that the shelf beyond its borders is a direct (underwater) continuation of the continent on whose territory the land borders of the state are located (ie the shelf is not part of the ocean floor or another continent). So, on the UN official website (the page describing the functions of the three bodies established by the Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 of the year) is fixed: “According to the Convention, the coastal state sets the outer limits of its continental shelf where it goes beyond the 200 mile zone based on the recommendations of the Commission ”[on the limits of the continental shelf. - I.V.].
The international organizations involved in the Arctic are currently:
- The Arctic Council is a forum of eight Arctic countries (Russia, USA, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland), which aims to discuss issues related to the environmental agenda of the Arctic (as well as issues of its scientific study and economic mastering). Among the observer countries of this organization, Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Japan, Singapore and India should be singled out;
- The UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, whose task is to exercise the rights of the Arctic powers to delimit those parts of the Arctic shelf that extend beyond their 200-mile exclusive economic zones.
Without touching on other (purely political) issues related to the control of the North Pole spaces between the Arctic powers, it should be noted that Russia and the Kingdom of Denmark claim the same part of the Arctic shelf - the Lomonosov Ridge. Which, from the point of view of the kingdom, is the underwater part of Greenland, and not the direct (underwater) continuation of Siberia.
It should be noted that the first application of Russia, addressed to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, was sent back in 2001. Its essence was to include the Lomonosov Ridge in the Russian continental shelf and recognize it as such at the international level from all other Arctic powers. However, this application was rejected under the pretext that Russia does not have sufficient (from the point of view of the Commission’s experts) amount of evidence to substantiate its territorial claims. The reaction to this was the conduct of a whole range of research activities in the Arctic Ocean (known as the Russian Arctic Expedition "Arctic-2007"). In particular, the apotheosis of this expedition was the achievement of domestic bathyscaps (for the first time in stories humanity) of the North Pole and the establishment of the flag of Russia on it. The reaction of foreign partners to this “demarche” turned out to be extremely nervous in the spirit of condemning Russia's “expansionist” claims to possession of the Arctic spaces. The main practical result of this expedition was the creation of a whole scientific theory regarding the geological origin of the Lomonosov Ridge, as well as its direct relationship to the lithospheric plates underlying the base of modern Siberia.
The research results of this expedition formed the basis of a new Russian application to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, which was provided by the delegation headed by Minister of Natural Resources S.Е. Donskoy December 2 2016. At the same time, it should be noted that a few months earlier (in August of the same year) Denmark submitted a similar application for expanding the borders of its own (Greenland) continental shelf. Thus, at present, both applications are pending. This process, in turn, may take several years: in the case of Russia, at least five years, in the case of Denmark (applying to the Commission for the first time), no earlier than 2023 of the year (according to Danish special services). At the same time, it is necessary to note the absence of any contradictions between Russia and the United States, as well as Norway concerning the delimitation of the shelf (primarily because of the existence of bilateral treaties on the delimitation of borders). In turn, according to the newest Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation (approved by 30 in November 2016), all efforts should be made to remove, moreover, prevent conflicts from arising along the perimeter of their borders - including in the Arctic. The priority is to strengthen cooperation with other Arctic powers, stemming from the consciousness of the possibility of extracting mutual benefits in the course of working together in the Arctic Ocean (including in the field of energy, as well as in the area of environmental, environmental protection cooperation). In turn, the last option for getting out of possible crisis situations is to apply to an international court of justice. Moreover, the norms of international law are recognized as the only legitimate tool for resolving disputes between states.
It can be concluded that the resolution of all claims in relation to the issue of the delimitation of the Arctic shelf is carried out in accordance with the standards provided for by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, in particular, the procedures prescribed by the UN Commission on the delimitation of the continental shelf. The recommendations of the Commission, in accordance with the powers transferred to it under the Convention, are of key importance in resolving any disputes in the Arctic. However, at this stage, it seems to be too early to judge about the possibility of concluding some kind of agreement common for the entire five Arctic powers (an indirect sign of which - on the contrary - is the spreading in the media of interested countries the topic of increasing military presence in the Arctic by competing states). As for the Arctic Council, it can act as a kind of “stabilizer” of tensions between countries - primarily on the basis of joint environmental initiatives. At the same time, it should be noted that the very fact that there are countries in the Arctic Council that have no relation to the Arctic from a geographically geographical point of view can be seen as a desire, a hidden intention of these countries to take advantage of the lack of unity between the Arctic powers to promote their own interests and agendas. day in the region. If all the Arctic powers had reached some kind of general (shared by all the parties) agreement on the “redistribution of the Arctic”, dividing it into conditional “spheres of influence”, this would certainly contribute to the strengthening of their own positions in the region due to the actual expulsion the limits of all outsiders. It is a different matter that at present there are enough contradictions between the leaders of the development of the Arctic spaces themselves.
We can conclude that until the dispute between Russia and Denmark over the Lomonosov Ridge is resolved in one way or another, the prerequisites for concluding this kind of “general Arctic” treaty will not actually appear. In this sense, even increased pressure from outside can hardly turn the tide - at least if the current oil prices are maintained. At the same time, issues of cooperation between the Arctic countries remain relevant. Moreover, we can say that in this field, Russia occupies a leading position: both in terms of the number and power of fleet, and in terms of advanced technologies for oil production from under the ice thickness of the Arctic.